OREM—Brandon Averette led four other Wolverines in double figures with career-high 23 points to help lead Utah Valley to an 92-80 win over Grand Canyon on Saturday afternoon in front of a season-high 5,236 fans at the UCCU Center.
 
Former athletic director Michael Jacobsen was honored prior to the game and at halftime as he was inducted into the UVU Athletics Hall of Fame.
 
With the win, Utah Valley completes the two-game regular season sweep over the 'Lopes for the first time since 2014. The Wolverines have won two straight and improve to 11-17 overall and 5-8 in WAC play. Grand Canyon falls to 12-15 overall and 7-6 in league play.

"To have 29 made field goals and 26 of them are assisted spoke volumes about the unselfishness of our players," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Madsen. "We had a good week but we're not stopping there. Grand Canyon is a good team and we respect them but we haven't peaked yet. We'll continue to do the work every day, watch the film, and have the proper nutrition so that we continue to build momentum as we go forward."
 
The two teams played through three ties and a pair of lead changes over the first seven minutes minutes of the game as Grand Canyon took a 15-11 lead with 12:49 remaining in the first half. A Brandon Morley layup and a Trey Woodbury three-pointer sparked an 18-3 UVU run over the next seven minutes to give the Wolverines a 29-18 lead with 5:47 to go in the first. The 'Lopes were able to cut into the lead as GCU outscored UVU 13-9 over the final five minutes as the Wolverines took a 38-31 lead into the half.
 
The Wolverines outscored Grand Canyon 10-3 over the first three minutes of the second half to take a 48-34 lead. GCU cut the UVU lead to 10 points, 54-44 with 13:32 to go. The Wolverines then went on a 12-3 run to go back up by 18 points, 66-47, with 11:20 remaining. The lead was enough for UVU to hang on for the 92-80 win.
 
Averette scored his career-high 23 points on 6 of 10 shooting from the field, including three shots from long range. He also knocked down 8 of 9 free throws. Isaiah White scored 15 points on 5 of 9 shots from the field and a 5 of 6 mark from the charity stripe. Casdon Jardine scored 14 points, Jamison Overton recorded 12, and Woodbury had 10.
 
TJ Washington dished out a career-high 13 assists, marking his sixth straight game with five or more assists. The 13 assists are the second most ever recorded in a single game in UVU history. Emmanuel Olojakpoke recorded a pair of blocks to add to his UVU single season record blocks, which now totals 74.

"TJ (Washington) is a guy who can do a little bit of everything," said Madsen. "He can distribute. His 13 assists is an unbelievable number, especially at the college level. He can also be a scorer and is they type of player that can do so many different things."
 
As a team, UVU shot 54 percent (29-of-54) from the field. The team outrebounded GCU 32-26 on the day.
 
Carlos Johnson and Alessandro Lever led Grand Canyon with 23 points each.
 
Utah Valley now travels to play California Baptist on Wednesday, Feb. 26 in the team's final regular season road trip of the season Tip-off on Wednesday night is set for 8 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ plus.